Portable work-supporting rack.



J. F. GAVANAGH.

PORTABLE WORK SUPPORTING RACK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13, 1909.

Patented J an. 24, 1911.

2 BHBETSSHEBT 1.

ATTORNEY J. F. CAVANAGH.

I PORTABLE WORK SUPPORTING RACK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13, 1909.

982,477. Patented Jan. 24, 1911.

2 BHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOR ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

101m 1'. cavnnncn, -or rnovmnncn, anonn ISLAND, assronoa To nuemri' LYNCH, or rnovmnncn, more rsmmn.

PORTABLE WORK-SUPPORTING BACK.

Specification of Lettcn 1at'ent.

Application filed July 18, 1809. Serial No. 507,349.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. CAVANAGH, a citizen of the United States, residin at the city of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Work- Supporting Racks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanyin drawing.

his invention relates to carrier racks or frames and has for its object to provide a frame of this character that is light in weight, inexpensive in construction and that is provided with tapes or ribbons to serve as slats or bars on which to rest articles to be transferred or carried about in the mill or factory while in the process of construction.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the frame that the same may be collapsed or folded to greatly facilitate shippingland storing.

T is rack is more particularly adapted for use as a carrier frame in hat factories to receive hats while in a soft, pliable, or unfinished condition, as the flat-faced tape is adapted to yield to the pliable hat without leaving a mark upon the same.

Another feature of this invention is that the slack or stretch is taken'up on these tapes, and they are held at a uniform tension by means of springs connected to their ends.

A further feature of the invention is that one of each pair of the supporting tapes is lower than the other so that when the rack is being transported or conveyed from one place to the other the hats will not readily slip from their position thereon.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be morefully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1-' is a perspective view of the rack or frame showing the same set up and in position to receive hats or other articles. Fig. 2- is a perspective view showing the frame as having been folded up or colla sed. Flg. 3- shows a portion of an end rame illustrating the inclined rods over which the supporting tapes are drawn, also showing the springs for exerting a tension on said tapes and a hat in position on the tapes. Fig.

4 is an enlar d detail representing part of a tape rod 5 owin a reduced portion to recelve the tape and 51c manner of riveting the rod to the. frame. Fig. 5- is a sectlonal end view in detail illustrating the ointed portion of the frame, showing the manner of setting the back of one member into the recessed portion of the other member for the purpose of stiffening the frame and also showing the members as being held in pos1t1on by means of a win nut. Fig. 5 shows another means of ocking the oint members of the frame to other with a r1gh t and left hand screw. ig. 7- is a modification illustrating a simple and effect1ve ]01I1t arrangement whereby said members may be rea ily released to allow the dev1ce to be folded or to be quickly locked inits extended position without the use of bolts or nuts. Fig. 8-- shows the construction illustrated in Fig. 7 with the cross bars unlocked and in a EOSltlOIl taken when the rack is'bemgzclose or folded.

eferring to the drawings, the end frames of the rack are each made u of two standards 1--2 and 3-4, respectively, the same being preferably constructed of light channel iron or iron grooved longitudmally on its surface. The upright standards in each of the end frames are connected by means of tape rods. Each of these rods is turned down near its end at 6, see Fig. 4, to receive the tape, the extreme end of the rod being again reduced as at 7 to be readily rivete into the standard. For convenience I prefer to set the tape rods on an incline so that the end in one standard will be lower than that in the opposite standard, as best illustrated in Fig. 3.

The lower end of each standard is preferably turned or bent outward forming a broader finished foot on which to stand and also for the purpose of being more readily slid about over the floor. The lower portion of each standard is connected to the corresponding standard on the o posite end of the rack by jointed rails 8 and 9. The outer end of each lower rail, as shown in Fig. 1, is pivotally connected to its respective frame at 10 and 11. These members are also preferably of the channel construction, the jointed ends 12 and 13 between the frames, see Fig. 5, being adapted to fit one within the other where they are retained and bound when in position by the bolt 14 which ex- Patented Jan. 24, 1911.

- tends through the outer casing or tube 15 and also through each side of the frame where it is set up or pinched against said tube and the members tightly bound together by means of nuts 16. A similar construction is employed at the upperend of the rack where the jointed connecting bars ..or members 16 and 17 are pivoted at their outer ends on the rods 18 and 19 which pass through the tubes 18 and 19. Both of these ends and also the middle portion of said members are adapted to be-bound together by means of the nuts 20, 21 and 22 by the construction illustrated in Fig. 5.

A pair of flexible tapes 23 are connected at one end to the upper tape rod 24 in one of the frames. They are then led across over the rod 25 in the opposite frame down around the next rod 26 and back across and over the rod 27 in the first frame where the ends are connected by coil springs 28 to the ends of another pair of tapes 29 which lead around-the next adjacent rod 30, across the rack, around rods 31 in the opposite frame, down around rod 32 and back across the frame where they are fastened to red 33, the adjacent ends of these tapes being drawn tightly by said springs 28 to take up their slack and stretch and retain the same under a constant tension. As the hats or other articles rest upon these tapes in the rack they are prevented from slipping from the lower side by means of cords or wires 34 stretched across from one standard to the other.

It is found in practice that a very convenient and practlcal means of folding or collapsin the frame is to make each pair of cross ars 38 and 39, see Figs. 7 and 8, jointed at the center portion, bar 39 being slotted near one end at 40 to receive the rod 41 which extends between the pair of bars 38, and at its opposite end at 42 to receive the rod 43 which extends between the standards 1 and 2. One endof the bar 39 is notched out at 44 to receive the pin 46 on the bar 38, the opposite end of said bar being notched at 45 to receive the pin 47 on the standards 1 and 2. The bar 38 is slotted at one end at 48 to receivethe rod 49 extending between standards 3 and 4. This bar is also notched at 50 to receive the pin 51 in standards 3 and 4. When it is desired to fold a rack having a joint of this construction it is only necessary to draw the. end frames apart causing the springs 38 in the tapes 23 and the spring 52 in the retaining cord 34 to yield allowing the notched ends of the bars to be readily drawn from their retaining pins 47 and 51, and naturally take the position illustrated in Fig. 8. The lower bars ma be of the same or similar construction an -by raisin these with the foot the whole frame may e readily collapsed into the position illustrated in Fig. 2. When it is desired to open or extend the frame it is only necessary to quickly draw apart the side frames and the ends of the cross bars will automatically snap into engagement with their respective retaining pins, in

which position they are firmly held by the tension of the springs 28 and 52. I do not restrict myself to any particular means of securing these jointed members together as which the hats were placed to be conveyed to different departments in the factory. These bars bein round often marked or left prints in the soft pliable unfinished hat. In shipping these racks they took up a great deal of room and were easily destroyed. When not in use they required a large amount of storage space and were unwieldy to handle. My improved construction provides a folding or collapsible frame which may be closed up tightly reducing to a minimum the space occupied. When the racks reach the factory in a collapsed condition, it is only necessary to quickly draw apart the end frames, which act in itself would automatically tighten the retaining tapes and cords, and in some constructions screw up the nuts on the hinged members or bars, and the rack is ready to receive the work. The tapes are preferably of soft absorbent cotton texture, and their broad flexible faces yield to the pressure of the hat and leave no marks upon its pliant surface. These tapes are always held at the proper tension by means of the coil springs 28. The folding of this rack is made possible and particularly easy by the use of these flexible tapes, as in addition to the other advantages above described of providing a rest for the work, it is obvious that by 1 their use it is only necessary to provide a joint in the upper and lower cross bars or members to readily fold the whole rack into a compact and condensed form.

In transporting the loaded racks from one department to another they are usually engaged by a mechanical carrier at their rear upper edge, causing the same to hang on a slight angle, and where the tape rods are straight across, the hats are apt to slide ofl and become damaged, therefore by placing these rods on a slight angle this difliculty is overcome and the work is easily retained in the rack even while the same is being conveyed about by the carrier.

The device is extremely simple and pracsaid tapes, one tape 0 slightly lower than the other when the rack tical in its construction and effective in its operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A ortable rack comprising end frames, a plura ity of pairs of tapes one pair above the other and extending horizontally between said frames forming supports for the work, springs exerting a tyleldlng tension on each pair belng bars being adapted to be folded to bring said frames together, a plurality of pairs of tapes one pair above the other extending horizontall between said frames forming supports or the work, and springs exerting a yielding tension on said tapes.

4. A portable rack comprising end frames,

jointed bars connecting said frames, said bars being adapted to be folded to brin said frames together, locks on said jointed bars and spring means for retaining said bars in their locked position, and a plurality of pairs of tapes one air above the other extending horizontally between said frames forming supports for the work.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JOHN F. CAVANAGH.

Witnesses:

HOWARD E. Barrow, E. I. OGDEN. 

